Gold Filled has 100 times more gold than gold plated jewelry. Gold filled wire is created by taking a sheet of 14 karat gold and bonding it through extreme heat and pressure to a core of semi-precious metal (brass). This is a very sophisticated process and only a few mills in the world do it. You should not mistake this process for gold plating as there is a very big difference.You can wear your jewelry in water/etc with no worries as it will not chip or fade! NICKEL FREE